e-Insurance-Electronic Insurance Account

What is an eIA (e-Insurance account)e-IA stands for e-Insurance Account or “Electronic Insurance Account” is the portfolio of insurance policies of a proposer/policyholder held in an electronic form with an insurance repository.

This e-Insurance account facilitate the policyholder by providing access to the insurance portfolio at a click of a button through internet. This will help eIA holder to keep a track of insurance policies (life as well as non life) under one umbrella.

Finally you can maintain your insurance policies in electronic form.

What is an ‘Insurance Repository’? and its objective‘Insurance Repository’ is a company formed and registered under the Companies Act, 1956. It has also been granted a certificate of registration under the “Guidelines on Insurance repositories and electronic issuance of insurance policies” by IRDA. NDML has named its repository as National Insurance-policy Repository (NIR)

The objective of creating an insurance repository is to provide policy holders a facility to keep insurance policies in electronic form and to undertake changes, modifications and revisions in the insurance policy with speed and accuracy in order to bring about efficiency, transparency and cost reduction in the issuance and maintenance of insurance policies.

Fees Requirement for Opening An e Insurance Account-eIA, e-Insurance policyOpening and Maintaining of Electronic Insurance Account (eIA) is completely FREE. No charges need to be paid by investors. Charges for services are paid by Insurance Companies to these repositories. Therefore no charges are levied on policy holders/eIA holders and There will be no hidden cost/charges involved

There are multiple benefits in Opting new insurance policies in electronic mode(e-Insurance account-eIA)The following are the broad benefits of holding Insurance Policies in electronic form:

Safety: There is no risk of loss or damage of a policy as is common with paper policies; the Electronic form ensures that the policies are in safe custody and can be easily accessed whenever and wherever needed. A copy of the policy can be downloaded at any time by accessing the e-Insurance account.

Convenience: All insurance policies, be it life, pension, health or general, can be electronically held under a single e-Insurance account. This means all details of all policies are available in a single account (place). The details of any of the policies can be accessed at any time by logging on to the online portal of Insurance Repository.

Single Point of Service: Service requests in respect of e-Insurance account or any of the electronic policy can be submitted at any of Insurance Repository’s service points. A single request can sometimes cater to the requirements of several Insurers. As an illustration, a single change of address request made to the Insurance Repository can update the policies issued by multiple Insurers. There would be no need to go to several offices of individual Insurers for service.

Less Paper work and savings in time: An e-Insurance account holder is freed from the trouble of submitting KYC details each time a new policy is taken. Further, any changes in personal details like address or contact number can be effected through a single request thus saving on paper and time.

Statement of Account: At least once every year, the Insurance repository would send a statement of account to the e–Insurance account holder with the details of the policies of the account holder.

Payment Options: Premium for all the policies can be paid online and several service requests can be logged from the e-Insurance account.

Increased number of service touch points: Since, the Insurance repositories function in addition to the Insurers, the policyholders will have increased number of touch points for having their servicing needs attended.

Single view: Single view of all policies will be made available to an authorized person in case of death of the e-Insurance account holder.

List OF Insurance RepositoriesIRDA has granted the Certificate of Registration to the following five entities to act as ‘Insurance repositories’ that are authorized to open e-Insurance Accounts.

M/s NSDL Database Management Limited

M/s Central Insurance Repository Limited

M/s SHCIL Projects Limited

M/s Karvy Insurance Repository Limited

M/s CAMS Repository Services Limited

What is an e-Insurance account application form? Where can it be obtained from? How to open an e Insurance Account-eIA, e-Insurance policy OnlineAn e-Insurance account application form is one that is used by an individual to open an e-insurance account with the Insurance Repository. This form would be available with Insurance Company, Insurance Repository or an Approved Person.

You can submit the e Insurance Account (eIA) request by filling the eIA application form online. After filling the details, take a printout of the completed eIA application form and submit it alongwith the KYC details to the nearest Approved Person for generation of the eIA number.

Proof of Address (any one of the following)1. Regd. Lease and License Agreement/ Agreement for sale2. Aadhar Letter3. Ration Card4. Driving License5. Passport6. Voter ID Card7. Bank Passbook (not more than 6 months old)8. Electricity Bill (not more than 6 months old)9. Residence Telephone Bill (not more than 6 months old)10. Self-declaration by High Court and Supreme Court judges, giving the new address in respect of their own accounts11. Identity card/document with address, issued by Central/State Government and its Departments12. Identity card/document with address, issued by Statutory/Regulatory Authorities13. Identity card/document with address, issued by Public Sector Undertakings14. Identity card/document with address, issued by Scheduled Commercial Banks15. Identity card/document with address, issued by Public Financial Institutions16. Identity card/document with address, issued by Colleges affiliated to universities17. Identity card/document with address, issued by Professional Bodies such as ICAI, ICWAI, Bar Council etc. to their Members

Along with the KYC documents the date of birth proof also has to be submitted, the documents acceptable are as below:

Can any individual/firm act as an Insurance Repository?No, Only an entity which is registered under Company’s Act and who is granted a ‘Certificate ofRegistration’ by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) can act as an Insurance Repository.

Can Insurance repository sell/solicit Insurance policy?No, Insurance repositories cannot sell/solicit insurance policies. They are authorized only to maintain the policies in electronic form and provide a service record of all insurance policies.

Can any individual open more than one e-insurance account with any Insurance Repository?No, as per the IRDA guidelines, an individual cannot open multiple e-Insurance accounts.

What all policy details will be available in the e-insurance account?A list of all policies that are credited will be available in the e-Insurance account. For each policy, policy level details like the status, commencement, maturity/expiry, nomination, assignment, endorsement, address, terms and conditions etc., would be available. In addition, the e-Insurance account holder will be able to download a copy of the policy bond.

Is it possible to shift from one Insurance repository to the other?Yes, the e-Insurance account holder will have an option to shift from one Insurance Repository to the other. All the policy details and transaction history would then be transferred to the new Insurance repository.